The Workings of Family
by Rettop92
Summary: It all started so long ago, before the Doctor entered the picture. Family excist in many ways and even more so, the Family of Time. These stories will focus mainly on the companions of the Doctor, with a bit of Doctor sometimes, and in the end tie into a bigger fictionverse I plan to write. Screams AU. A bunch of one-shots in no particular order, characters will vary
1. Homecoming

**AN: Hey everyone, if anyone is interested. This story is in the end, hopefully, going to be a collection of oneshots that ties into a bigger story that I'm planning. The characters listed is for the first chapter and it's going to vary from chapter to chapter. This is AU and I know that I'm messing around with timelines but this is fanfiction so if it bothers you too much you should probably find another story. The Doctor might show up in this story and he might not, we'll see. He will be in the main story and some of these stories might make it there or is referred to in there. I have not watched all of Old Who, working on it, so I might later head back to edit chapters where I feel that I have gotten the characters wrong. This first chapter will be Ian and Barbara (and a friend of Ian's) just after they arrive back home. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything, as always.**

Homecoming

"Ian, what are we going to do?" Barbara asked miserably. "Neither of us have our homes and neither of us have parents anywhere near London"

"We'll figure something out" Ian said trying to sound surer than he was. "Do you have any friends around here that could help?"

"Not that would just take us in after two years away" Barbara sighed. "How about you?"

"Not really, I don't even know if my best friend is in England" Ian sighed as well and they kept walking along the darkening street.

Ian was hardly looking where he was going now. They were both tired and needed somewhere to stay, something they hadn't come to think of before the giddiness of being home wore off. Ian accidently bumped into a man while making his way along the mostly empty road.

"Sorry" he said not really looking up at the man.

"Ian?" the man asked and both Ian and Barbara stopped and turned to him.

Barbara looked the man over in confusion. He was around Ian's height with dark hair, a well-trimmed moustache, maybe a few years older than them and a presence of him that seemed commanding, much more pleasantly so than anyone they had met during their adventures. A glance at Ian told her he might actually know this man, she was proved right by Ian's next words.

"Alistair? I wasn't expecting to see you here" he said with a smile but the air about him told her that he was nervous.

"I say, where have you been for the last year and a half?" the man asked in a voice that caused Barbara to tense but Ian seemed to do the opposite.

"Well, that's a long story" he said glancing at her.

They had talked about what to tell people and come to the conclusion of a half-truth. They would tell people that the Doctor had hired them as Susan's tutors while he travelled the most unreachable places of the world. It was a bit out there but it was half true and it was something they could remember and that way they might be able to even tell some stories. Ian seemed to have hoped that someone else than this friend of his would be the first one they tried the story on however.

"We have time, I have tomorrow off. Join me home and tell me there. Who is your friend by the way?" Alistair said looking to Barbara.

"Oh, Alistair meet Barbara, my fiancée" Ian said and Alistair's eyebrows rose at the use of the word fiancée but didn't comment. "Barbara, this is Alistair, an old friend of mine"

"It's nice to meet you" Barbara said with a smile shaking the man's hand feeling warm from Ian's introduction, it was the first time he introduced her as such.

"Same to you, am I to assume that you are the other teacher who disappeared along with Ian?" the man asked and Barbara was surprised that there was no judgement in his voice.

"Yes" Ian answered seemingly used to his friend's lack of judgement.

"Well then, you can of course join us as well, I don't imagine you have a house any more than Ian does" Alistair said and Barbara looked slightly guilty. "No matter, come, my wife is visiting her mother right now so there is nothing to worry about"

Ian snorted slightly and Barbara had the feeling that he had strong opinions about this woman. Alistair rolled his eyes but didn't comment, probably not sharing Ian's opinions but he seemed used to them.

"Um, this is going to seem like a strange question but what month is it?" Barbara asked and Alistair gave her a look.

"June" he answered.

"We somewhat lost track of time lately" Ian explained.

"Could happen I guess" Alistair shrugged. "Not that I'm capable of that"

"Not even when you are off work?" Ian asked glancing at Barbara, he wasn't really ready to tell her what his best friend did for a living.

"Usually never off for long enough for that" Alistair answered and Ian shrugged, that was true. "Here we are"

It was a normal sized house in a decent part of London and it looked pleasant enough, Barbara liked it though it was currently dark.

"You're lucky you met me, I was just out for supplies" he said gesturing to the bag he was holding. "But next time you need something, anything, you call me, Ian"

"I'll remember that" Ian said referring from reminding his friend of that he wasn't always that easy to reach.

They entered the house and Alistair disappeared into the kitchen to put his groceries away.

"So where have you been?" he asked and Barbara got the feeling that he had barely raised his voice.

"We were worried about a student and followed her home, turned out her grandfather was taking her on a trip around the world. He hired us as her tutors on the spot and dragged us on a trip around the world" Ian answered and Barbara realised what the main problem had been before, he couldn't tell the entire lie to his friend's face. "We never stayed long enough in places that actually had a phone or post office to call or write"

"No way of convincing him to stay just a few minutes longer?" Alistair asked looking out the kitchen door with a frown.

"No, trust me, no way" Ian said and Barbara nodded in agreement, that much was true.

"Grumpy old man then?" Alistair said with an amused look on his face.

"Oh yes" Barbara said and Ian had a hard time holding back his laughter.

"Could we borrow your shower by the way? We just got back and haven't had a chance to shower for a few days" Ian asked and Alistair gestured to the bathroom.

"Feel free to, you can borrow the washing machine as well if you need to" he said. "Fiona probably have something you can use, her mother lives in Cardiff and she isn't due back before the weekend" he added turning to Barbara.

"Well, ladies first" Ian said bowing in a slight impression of a knight, something she had to remind herself that she couldn't call him while they had company.

"Always so chivalrous" Alistair said and Ian gave him a sceptical look.

"That comes from Mr 'I-don't-tell-anyone-to-do-anything-I-wouldn't-do-myself'" he said sarcastically.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're the one who dreamed of becoming a knight" Alistair answered heading into what Barbara assumed was a bedroom to fetch them something to wear.

"You did?" Barbara whispered giggling.

"What boy doesn't? I've known Alistair my whole life and we're always been close, you're probably the only one with as much dirt on me as him" Ian said and Barbara's eyebrows rose.

"What dirt do I have on you? You have spent the last two years saving my life" she whispered.

"And you mine" Ian said pulling her in for a kiss.

"Do you want one or two beds tonight?" Alistair asked as they pulled apart.

"Eh" was all Ian could get out and his friend snorted.

"Just so you know, the guest room only have one" he said and Ian rolled his eyes as his friend handed what looked like a nightdress to Barbara and instructed her on where she could find a towel.

"So, how long have you two been engaged?" Alistair asked as the two men moved to the kitchen.

"About" Ian had to stop to think. He had asked her after their business with the crusaders, it was hard enough to almost losing her to death all the time, he couldn't imagine losing her to another man. That was a month ago he counted. "A month"

"You had to count?" Alistair asked amused.

"Yes, I have not kept count of the days" Ian said and he really hadn't, time was hard enough to keep track of in the TARDIS as it was.

"What happened to make you ask? Something did, I can see it in your eyes" he said and Ian sighed.

"Ask no questions and I will tell no lies" he said and Alistair's eyebrows raced up his forehead. "It's complicated, we had just left a pretty adventurous trip to Palestine behind and I just had to ask, I almost lost her" Ian said and Alistair seemed to realise something.

"It's her isn't it? The woman you fancied before you disappeared?" he said and Ian gave him a hard look, that he knew didn't face his friend at all.

"Yes but don't tell her that" he said.

"Really, my good man, what do you think of me?" Alistair asked shaking his head and Ian smiled. "Well we should make something to eat before your fair lady is done"

The jokes on knights were something the three year older Alistair had started when the two men were in their teens and Ian still sometimes dreamed of being a knight even if it by that time were only fantasies. Ian had become much more scientific when he entered university and those dreams were almost forgotten, hidden somewhere at the back of his wardrobe along with his favourite book series. Hm, he was a knight now, maybe it was time to dig out those novels as well. He would probably look at them quite differently after his meeting with the Face of Boe, to think that a huge head in a jar had read Lord of the Rings. Then, what else than read did he have to do?

"Remembering your travels?" Alistair asked and Ian almost jumped realising he had zooned out for a moment.

"Yes, it was an exciting journey" Ian said with a smile.

* * *

By the time Barbara left the bathroom there was several sandwiches on the counter in the kitchen and she found the men standing there eating and discussing old memories. She smiled, happy that her fiancé had such a good friend. She entered the kitchen and Ian turned to her with a smile and offered her a sandwich before excusing himself to the shower. Alistair looked after his friend, this woman must be something really special for Ian to light up like that when she entered the room. He just hoped that feeling stayed with his friend. He watched as Barbara looked around the kitchen and saw her frown when she spotted the gun and military beret he had just dropped on the counter earlier and over a chair in the adjoining dining room were his uniform. Oops.

"You're a soldier?" she asked sounding slightly wary.

"Yes, a colonel actually" Alistair said, he hadn't want to become a military man but here he was.

Barbara was surprised, she wasn't sure why but she was. She had not expected the man to be in the military, it just didn't seem like Ian to have friends there. Now she wondered why she had thought that, who said Ian had to have friends in the academic world? She had friends outside it. On top of that he had known Alistair his whole life, she and her childhood friends had gone very different routes.

"I should probably remove that" Alistair said making to pick up the gun but stopped when Barbara froze. What had happened? Why was she afraid of him picking up the gun? What had they been through? He leaned back again and studied her, she was beautiful and he could see what Ian saw there. The fear that had temporally been in her eyes was concerning though but he wouldn't ask, Ian would tell him when he was ready, if ever. Suddenly he remembered a promise he had made.

"You can borrow that as well" he said pointing to the phone and Barbara looked confused for a second before realising what he meant.

"Thank you but I think I'll wait till tomorrow, it's getting late after all" she said, not sure of her parents reaction to her sudden return not to talk about the engagement.

"Well Ian's calling tonight, I promised his parents that" Alistair said offering Barbara another sandwich as she had finished her first.

Barbara decided to leave the thought of the gun behind her, the fact that he had not picked it up when she froze told her that there was no way he would do anything to either of them. She was starting to like him, soldier or not.

"So do you have any good stories about Ian?" she asked accepting a sandwich.

"Oh, so many" Alistair said. "How about the summer when all we did was having water fights? Ian spent two weeks in bed after an especially cold one"

Barbara giggled, that sounded like her Ian all right. Seeing her laughing Alistair launched into more stories of his and Ian's childhood. Ian had found a woman who was right for him, that he was sure off.

* * *

"Ian" Barbara said about two hours later when they were nestled up in bed together.

"Mm" her fiancé answered sleepily.

"Is Alistair always like this? So… not judgemental" she asked and Ian pulled himself up on his elbow to look at her.

"Yes" he said simply. "Which is rare in his field of work"

"A soldier that doesn't judge beforehand, I think I like that" Barbara said.

"An officer who actually leads his men into battle, he would never order someone to do something he wasn't prepared to do himself" Ian said. "Therefore he is on the frontline when he needs to"

"Sounds like the kind of leader any army should have, if his heart is in the right place" Barbara said.

"Alistair's is" Ian said but Barbara hadn't needed the reassurance.

"I noticed, just the fact that he took us in after two years away proves that" she said. "Is he going to be your Best Man?"

"If he is okay with it then yes, he is my first choice" Ian said pulling her into his arms. "But planning our weeding can wait, now I just want to kiss you until we both fall asleep" he mumbled into her ear and Barbara felt warm all over.

* * *

Alastair passed his guest bedroom with a chuckle at the sounds from inside. He still wondered what exactly had happened to his friend but he also knew he was not going to ask. He respected and trusted Ian too much for that. He knew that if his friend felt he needed to know he would tell him so he would leave it alone and just be the person that was there, for both of them. No matter what he was not a man who abandoned his friends. Even when they were keeping secrets from him. What he didn't know however was that in just a few short months he would be pulled into the world Ian and Barbara had seen by the same man, and he would come to trust that man above most. He would keep his own secrets unknowing of how similar they were to his friend's, but not yet. That night Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Steward went to bed without any idea of just how important the old man Ian and Barbara had travelled with would be to him.

**AN: Well that's it. The first chapter at least. I have no idea when I might end up updating next as I'm a University student and school has to come first. Feel free to comment on grammar and spelling as English is not my first language. I would love to know what you think of this story and constructive criticism is actually a good thing. Thanks for reading!**


	2. A Face With a Message

**AN: Hi again! This came faster than I thought it would but I realised I wanted to write this after referring to a certain face in the last chapter. I do have an idea of what to do with what Ian is told in here but that is far into the future. Would be fun if someone else can guess and see what I realised a while ago. Still Ian and Barbara but now we get some Doctor and Susan as well. So for everyone who is reading this, just enjoy the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't think you expect me to own it, and I don't.**

A Face With a Message

Ian and Barbara were very impressed with the whole party the Doctor had managed to land them in this time. It was actually fun and so far no one had tried to kill them. Susan also seemed delighted, especially with a strange, big head in a jar. She was however hesitant to approach but kept glancing at it while she stood with her former teachers as the two adults quietly discussed the aliens around them, the Doctor had wandered off again.

"Is there something you wonder, young one?" a voice suddenly spoke inside their heads and both humans jumped. "I'm sorry, it's rather hard to give a warning sometimes"

Ian and Barbara looked around for whoever it could be and realised that the giant head were moving towards them in his jar. It could talk in their heads.

"Who are you?" Ian asked wary of what it could be this time as he unconsciously pulled Barbara behind him.

"He's the Face of Boe, rumoured to be the oldest being in the universe and one of the wisest" Susan said and Ian reluctantly let Barbara step forward again to stand beside him. "We learnt about him in school, it's an honour"

"The honour is all mine, young one, all mine" the Face said in their heads sounding slightly wistful.

"Oldest being in the universe? How old are you?" Ian asked which caused Barbara to hiss his name and elbow him in the stomach.

"Older than you can imagine being and older than you ever want to become" the head said with a sad note in his voice. "I will outlive everyone I truly care for, I almost already have"

"That sounds so sad" Barbara said and Ian took her hand in comfort.

"Not always, sometimes old friends drop in for a visit" there was a strange glimmer in Boe's eyes as he said this that somehow reminded Ian of the Doctor.

"Are you singing tonight, sir?" Susan asked turning the conversation to a happier subject before turning to her friends to explain. "The Face of Boe is famous for singing ancient songs at things like this"

"I am, and I would be most delighted to know what time travellers like yourselves think of it" the head said and all three of them froze. "Oh don't be alarmed, it is possible to guess from the young lady's species after all"

"It is?" Barbara asked looking at her young friend who nodded.

"Ah, my show will soon start, you should go and get a good table" Boe said as there was a call in the speakers for said event.

"You two go find us some seats, I'll be with you in a moment" Ian said releasing Barbara's hand that he hadn't realised he was still holding.

"Why not join your friends?" the Face asked.

"I'm just curious about you, Susan, my young friend, said that you were very wise, so, I wondered what you know about a 'man' called the Doctor?" Ian asked and to his surprise the giant head chuckled.

"Oh I know quite a bit about him, but right now I can't tell you" Boe said which caused the man to frown. "I can tell you one thing, one day you will meet someone who strangely fit a poem from your favourite book series"

"What?" Ian frowned, what was the head talking about?

"_All that is gold does not glitter,  
Not all those who wander are lost,  
The old that is strong does not wither,  
Deep roots are not reached by the frost,  
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,  
A light from the shadows shall spring,  
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,  
The crownless again shall be king_" the Face quoted and Ian's eyes widened long before he was done.

"How did you know…?" he asked not sure how to finish the question.

"You shall find out one day, and no, I'm not reading your mind" Boe said smiling as much as he was able but Ian could hear it in his voice. "Oh and one thing for you and your friends, when I'm on the stage, listen to what I sing and say and remember it, it will bring you a laugh one day. Enjoy the show" the head said and Ian looked after him as he started to leave.

"Did he say something wise?" Susan asked as Ian joined her and Barbara at the table they had claimed.

"He said we should listen and remember, it will apparently bring us a laugh one day" Ian said with a shrug, keeping Boe's other words to himself as the Doctor joined them.

"How is that?" Barbara asked as the music started after they had been quiet for a moment during the introductions.

"No ide…" Ian trailed off as he recognised the music and the song Boe started to sing. "Are you joking with me?"

"Is that…?" Barbara asked with wide eyes.

"_Hound dog_? He's singing Elvis?" Ian asked completely bewildered. "What's next? Beatles?"

"Is he from Earth?" Barbara asked the Doctor.

"Hm? No, no, he shouldn't even be human" the Doctor said listening closely to what was being sung.

Ian and Barbara couldn't believe it as the head actually sang Beatles when the first song ended. Ian couldn't look at the head as he listened to the words ringing through his head.

"Someone in the audience has a question for you, sir" the man who was presenting the show said and the Face of Boe turned his tank to him.

"What?" he said.

"What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything?" the man said.

"42" Boe promptly answered causing Ian to look up and meet the confused gazes of his friends.

"What is he talking about?" Ian asked the Doctor in a whisper.

"My good man I have no idea, I imagine that is quite a standard question to the Face of Boe though" the Doctor answered as Boe started to sing again.

"I don't recognise this one" Barbara said.

"Neither do I" Ian agreed with a frown.

"Might not exist yet in your time" Susan said with a shrug.

The show continued and the quartet found that they seemed to enjoy themselves quite a bit even with all the music they didn't recognise.

"This next song was a real winner when it came all those years ago" Boe said and started to sing.

"Another unknown one" Ian said not really surprised anymore.

"Waterloo?" Barbara suddenly asked as she listened to the text.

"Why would he be singing of that?" Ian asked interested. "Good song though"

"Probably why he's singing it" Susan said smiling.

"True and with how far into the future it is, music we know is probably really old" Barbara said.

"Ancient even" Ian joked and Barbara giggled.

Ian felt a thrill run through him at her giggle. He had liked Barbara for ages, it probably felt longer than it really was but why should he care? He had been stealing glances at her almost since they first met but teachers working at the same school really shouldn't date. It was against all norms, and the headmaster wouldn't be too happy about it. It had annoyed him greatly and his best friend had to stand more than one evening of him complaining when he was on permission. Now though, he realised, here trapped in a Police Telephone Box traveling through space and time there were no such rules. He could try to establish a real relationship with Barbara, one that was more than friendship. He smiled softly as he looked down at the food they had been served, however alien it was really good, and decided that he would try. He would try to get her.

"He seems to like changing themes" Susan said when the next song started after the comment of a black and white dancer from their performer.

"He has pretty good taste in music though" Ian said then staring to laugh as the refrain begun and a video started behind the head with a group of people dancing in what looked like a graveyard.

Barbara glanced at Ian when he laughed. She liked his laugh she realised. She liked a lot of things about him. She tried to shake the thought away, it wasn't proper to like a colleague that way. Oh who was she kidding? She had fancied Ian for a while now but it was not as if she could do anything about it. Or maybe she could, she realised. They weren't on Earth anymore and she was quite sure that neither the Doctor nor Susan would care if she and Ian were in a relationship. She wasn't sure he felt the same though. Still, when he had taken her hand earlier… She would give it a shot. She just hoped it would be worth it in the end.

"You think here is any truth in this one?" Ian whispered to Barbara as the great head changed tunes again.

"Who knows, but anything sure goes more in our time than a few years ago" Barbara said with a shrug then her eyes widened at the lyrics. "Though that thing about him undressed…"

"What would that mean? Out of the tank?" Ian asked doing his best to ban the images of Barbara that showed up in his head at the lyrics.

"Not sure I want to know" Barbara confessed.

They finished their dinner as Boe finished his show and soon after they were on their way to the TARDIS in high spirits after their first adventure in the box that didn't really have trouble of any kind. They passed the Face of Boe on their way and the head stopped them in their path.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he asked and they glanced at each other.

"Hmmm? Yes, yes, very good indeed, and it's an honour to meet you as well" the Doctor said and a chuckle was heard in their heads.

"The honour is all mine old friend, as always. I look forward to our next meeting, wonder what you will look like then?" the head mused and the Doctor and Susan's eyes widened while the humans looked on confused. "Enjoy your travels my friends, one day they will be stories worth telling. Fare well"

They all watched stunned as the alien rolled away. The Doctor's stunned look soon turned to a frown as he realised that the being actually might know what he was talking about which meant he would not only regenerate, which he expected to happen eventually anyhow, but also run into a past version of the Face of Boe. That could come to prove confusing. He shook the thought away and continued his walk towards the TARDIS with the others just behind him.

"I wonder what the Face of Boe meant with his comment before the show started" Barbara mused as the Doctor unlocked the ship.

"We may never know, or we might find out one day" Ian shrugged holding the door open for her. "We just have to wait and see"

* * *

It wasn't until around ten years later that they started to understand the words of the ancient head. It was a normal Saturday evening in April and the Science factuality of Cambridge University and their respective partners were gathered in the home of their Head of factuality. Ian was standing behind the sofa staring white-faced at the screen of the television, his knuckles white from his hard grip on the back of the sofa. Barbara was seated on the same sofa just as focused on the television, her face as white as her husband's. On the television were a group of four people preforming a song that stuck a cord with both of them.

"So, Ian who's going to win?" one of Ian's colleagues asked putting a band on Ian's shoulder without noticing how tense he was.

"Sweden" Ian answered without hesitation, the Face of Boe's words echoing in his head.

"Want to bet on that?" his friend said and Ian pulled himself together now that the song had ended, Liz Shaw was the only one noticing just how tense he had been.

"Sure, as long as it's not money" Ian said standing up and relaxing slightly.

"Loser takes the winner's correcting until summer" the man offered.

"Taken" Ian said shaking his friend's hand.

"Why Sweden?" Liz asked from her place beside Barbara on the sofa.

"Because we listen and remember" Barbara said with a slight smile.

"And this song will be a winner" Ian finished leaning forward, also smiling.

The Chestertons then gave each other a meaningful glance before they burst out laughing, and from then on they kept eyes and ears open for the rest of what the Face of Boe had said and sung on that stage so far into the future. Of course, Ian didn't have to correct a single assignment for the rest of that term either.

**AN: There you have it, I hope you like it. I would love some constructive criticism on this and know what you think. No clue as to really how the Universities in England works concerning exams and such but there always seems to be things just before summer so now Ian gets out of correcting. And we have another friend of the Doctor in there, two really but the Face is obvious, and this one is actually quite likely to have met Ian and Barbara. Well, I won't take up more of your time, thanks for reading and see you next time, whenever that will be.**


End file.
